If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

They are actually all sort of related. The A108 was based on Dauphine mechanicals and the Caravelle was the factory's take on a sportier Dauphine. Of course the Alpine was rather more successful.

I considered using the Frégate for my comical amusing remark (AFAIK the only post war front engined rear wheel drive Renault designed by Renault themselves) but that was only available as a four door, so it didn't quite fit.

But I digress.

Originally Posted by Kitdy

I wasn't even sure it was a known acronym. I meant to confound with a potential Kitdy original.

My gut tells me this is not destined for the street, in a my-gut-is-actually-a-complex-interpretation-of-hard-to-tease-out-thoughts kinda way.

To me the overtly retro design and some of the detailing (like the nose which I suspect would have a tough time meeting safety regulations...) are signs that this car isn't as close to production as we might wish.

Nevertheless, the success of the Toyobaru both in terms of sales as well as in terms of image, makes this more possible than if it was otherwise.

Well, I guess being the world's biggest car maker means you can swallow it up if it goes wrong (I'm not sure the Toyobaru is actually meeting sales targets) and anyway they had to partner with Subaru (and transfer most of the engineering to them) to make it work.

Welp, the Toyobaru was a punt, first on the scene kinda deal, that was hyped up and hotly anticipated and.. none of us bought one. If it's just power holding you back, there's about 57 kits available that'll give you a nice bump up without stressing things too much or costing an arm/leg transplant but we're still not buying them. I can assure you that if there was a waiting list for a Toyobaru, the IDx would be out already. While I agree that a BRZ STi would seem to be a sound business idea at this point given the platform and the engine are proven to take the power, it makes no sense at all for Nissan to leap into the fray at this stage.

Well, I guess being the world's biggest car maker means you can swallow it up if it goes wrong (I'm not sure the Toyobaru is actually meeting sales targets) and anyway they had to partner with Subaru (and transfer most of the engineering to them) to make it work.

Nissan can't afford that, as it turns out.

That's true, Nissan is a smaller manufacturer, but not that much smaller. If they can afford the 370Z platform, I think it'd be okay if they built a smaller RWD platform and share it with Renault too.

Originally Posted by pimento

Welp, the Toyobaru was a punt, first on the scene kinda deal, that was hyped up and hotly anticipated and.. none of us bought one. If it's just power holding you back, there's about 57 kits available that'll give you a nice bump up without stressing things too much or costing an arm/leg transplant but we're still not buying them. I can assure you that if there was a waiting list for a Toyobaru, the IDx would be out already. While I agree that a BRZ STi would seem to be a sound business idea at this point given the platform and the engine are proven to take the power, it makes no sense at all for Nissan to leap into the fray at this stage.

I currently don't own a car, but a BRZ is up there on my list when I do get spending power. Power be damned, I'm used to underpowered cars anyway.

I was hoping for Nissan to make the IDX so that small RWD cars would show up somewhere on Honda's radar. That was more wishful thinking than anything else though. Honda's so lost with its sport car/sports sedan strategy I have no idea where to begin... Don't even get me started with Acura.

That's true, Nissan is a smaller manufacturer, but not that much smaller. If they can afford the 370Z platform, I think it'd be okay if they built a smaller RWD platform and share it with Renault too.

The 370Z already sits on a shortened Skyline/Q50 platform which apparently can't be shortened anymore. This platform forms the basis of all current rear wheel drive road Nissans, if I'm not mistaken, so I wouldn't say it's well amortised already.

By the way, the Z now costs about the same as a BRZ so I don't know if there would be much room below anyway.